The great civil rights laws ended legal segregation in the South, but they did not end poverty, police violence or segregated housing in Northern cities. In the mid-1960s the movement argued openly about its goals and methods. Each position grew from real experience; understanding them means hearing each on its own terms.
Key idea
Leaders differed on methods and goals: King's nonviolent integration, Malcolm X's call for self-defense and Black pride, and the Black Power movement (from 1966). King was assassinated in April 1968.
| Martin Luther King Jr. | Malcolm X | Black Power (Stokely Carmichael, the Black Panthers) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Goal | An integrated society with equal rights; later, economic justice for the poor | At first, separation and Black self-reliance (Nation of Islam); later, human rights for Black people worldwide | Black political and economic control of Black communities; pride in Black culture and history |
| Method | Nonviolent direct action, voting, laws | The right to self-defense when attacked; rejected nonviolence as the only tactic | Community organizing, Black-led groups; the Panthers ran breakfast programs and armed patrols |
| Where strongest | Southern churches, national politics | Northern cities | SNCC after 1966; Oakland and other cities |
Why it works
Why did the debate sharpen after 1965? Riots broke out in Watts (Los Angeles) in 1965 and in Newark, Detroit and other cities in 1967. The Kerner Commission (1968) warned that the nation was "moving toward two societies, one black, one white—separate and unequal." Many young activists, beaten and jailed in the South, doubted that nonviolence and white allies could win. In June 1966, during a march in Mississippi, Stokely Carmichael of SNCC called for "Black Power." King, meanwhile, turned to poverty and spoke against the Vietnam War. He was killed in Memphis on April 4, 1968, while supporting striking sanitation workers.
Malcolm X's views changed late in his life. After leaving the Nation of Islam in March 1964 and making the pilgrimage to Mecca, he spoke of working with others, including some white allies, for human rights. He was assassinated on February 21, 1965.
Work it through
Worked example: Describing, not judging
Write one fair sentence for each side of the debate over nonviolence.
- For nonviolence: disciplined protest exposed the brutality of segregation and won national laws.
- For self-defense: people facing bombings and beatings had a right to protect themselves, and nonviolence had not changed conditions in Northern cities.
- Both sides wanted equal rights and dignity; they differed on means and on integration as the goal.
Answer: Each side, in its own terms; no verdict needed.
Common mistake
Students reduce the debate to "good" and "bad" leaders. Present each leader's argument in his own terms and the circumstances behind it; Malcolm X's views also changed late in his life. King himself grew more critical of poverty and war, and the Black Power movement included community programs as well as rhetoric.